Justice News

East St. Louis Woman Sentenced For Firearm Violation And Conspiracy To Obstruct Justice

An East St. Louis woman, convicted of Transfer of a Firearm to a Felon and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison on July 27, 2015, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.

Loletha Eckford, 34, of East St. Louis, IL, had previously pled guilty to those offenses on April 2, 2015. Following release from imprisonment, Eckford will serve a 1 year term of supervised release. Eckford was also ordered to pay a $400 fine and a $200 special assessment.

Evidence in support of this prosecution was obtained in an investigation which was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF initiative is designed to bring federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and resources together to identify, target and dismantle large national and international drug trafficking organizations. Agencies participating in this case include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, Illinois State Police, and East St. Louis, Illinois, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce.